Summer went by so fast. I feel, like others, that it just started.
Fall is a busy season for gardeners. We have to start cleaning up. I am already raking leaves, harvesting late veggies, and cutting the last blooms.
Now is the time to pull out all plants that are done and to get started with cold weather crops. II have a large amount of plants in terracotta pots. They have to be emptied and cleaned before you put them away for the winter. Tip: put newspaper in between each pot; this way, in spring they will come apart easily.
All the dirt from your pots should go into the compost. If you have a large spot like I do for your compost, put over ripe tomatoes, melons, squash, even peppers. You do not want them in the corner. Their seeds can sprout again next year.
The one thing I have learned over the years is that you should not put Morning Glory vines into the compost. I did that one year and had Morning Glory vines on everything. I love them on my back fence, but not in my garden! I know I have said it before, but put all the leaves you rake up in the compost.
I love figs, as many of you know. I just planted my last two fig trees this year. My friend Keith starts them from cuttings and gives them away. Well, in one of my books (after eating 50 or more figs this season), I read about a fruit beetle that will lay eggs on ripe figs. They are especially fond of the figs that have an ostiole or “open eye” on the end. They crawl into the fig from that hole and lay their eggs. This bug only likes ripe figs. So, harvest your figs as soon as they are ready. Now, I will leave the really ripe figs for the birds.
Someone asked me if they should prune back their lavender; yes, it is ok to prune it in early fall, but only enough to tidy up the plants. The right time is early spring. Cutting too late in the fall stresses the plant and often kills it.
Happy gardening!
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